Phiya Kushi's Blog: Musings on life and macrobiotics

Medicine as child’s play? Redefining what it means to be an adult…

March 3, 2011

A thought occurred to me this morning that, ideally speaking and in a perfect world, once someone has turned, say, 18-21 in age then they really should know how to manage their own health. Until then they may need the help of their parents or other experienced person or guide. What that implies then is that all of symptomatic medicine; its applications and its affairs is the realm of children and juveniles. It is child’s play and those who continue to require it have somehow remained emotionally and psychologically tethered to their youth and/or adolescence. They have not yet fully grown up ( perhaps with the help of too much dairy and sugar consumption?). Being an adult could then be defined as no longer having any need for medicine and being able to take care of not only one’s own health but also the health of others.

I agree totally. I often am dealing with a four year old in a 73 year old body in my therapy work. There are also issues with people that go way back in evolutionary time besides just their relative lives. For me, the best approach to be thankful that I am conscious of this and don’t get shocked by my ignorant expectations.

Excellent insight, and useful distinction. I’m just a little unsure if the world isn’t more fun, given the kind of self serving guy I am, being over populated by over-grown babies. On the one hand there is not so much competition for grown up activities (like uncovering simple truths…) on the other hand changing all those diapers, and enduring all those tantrums, not to mention talking baby-talk everywhere, watching fairy tales over and over…

Frankly I think parenting is the fundamental activity of man, and “parental love” is the most useful attitude with which to approach society in general, and I like the job, Just as long as “mommy and daddy” can find each other for essential, nourishing, sanity-restoring, adult time together, once in a while, I’m O.K….

I would put myself as “young teen-ager” Wobbling on unsteady legs between over-confidence and insecurity, deeply founded fresh optimism and ill-founded self-centered cocksureness…

I believe the basic problem is that most folks have abdicated the responsibility for their health to the medical community. Reasons may include laziness and fear. But, I believe, the biggest cause is our society’s worship of the church of modern medicine (see “Confessions of a Medical Heretic” by Dr. Robt. Mendelsohn.) No matter how much time and money is spent on research into disease if the ladder is leaning against the wrong building we can never reach the top. I recently had yet another friend die of cancer and it pains me greatly because his death may have been averted. When I told him of macrobiotics he said he was interested, but, when I gave him information and references he told me that his conventional therapy was going well. (I believe he may have consulted with one of the high priests of modern medicine) Consider this: Imagine I told him that macrobiotics could potentially benefit him but it would be very, very expensive. Imagine I further told him that the potential side effects of macrobiotics could include stomach upset and ulcers, joint pain, internal bleeding, coma and death. I also told him that if he is using any other therapies he should tell me immediately because macrobiotics could interact negatively with them and cause sudden death. Well, of course, he would want nothing to do with macrobiotics. Yet that is exactly what millions of people accept daily from the drug therapies offered for sale in television ads. I do respect doctors as human beings but I do not respect their unwillingness to see what should be obvious to so-called “educated ” professionals. We ARE NOT winning the war on cancer. No matter how much money we collect and throw down the sinkholes called “research” we will never get to the solution until we accept repsonsibilty for our own condition. I know folks mean well when they organize, wear pink, and go on walks to raise awareness for breast cancer or whatever, but their well-intentioned efforts do nothing to help solve the problem . In fact, I believe they are unknowingly strengthening the position of the drug companies and the medical community. Whether democrat or republican , conservative or liberal , the health care problem in America will never be solved by bickering over whether we should or should not have national health care. There will not be enough money available to take care of all of the folks who are making themselves sicker through ignorance and/or arrogance. Only through accepting personal responsibilty for our own condition will there ever be any hope for change towards health. And some in government mean well by working to impose their standards for diet and health on the nation, but, again, the danger here is that folks just abdicate their personal responsibilty once again to a third party (in this case the government watchdogs). Are people acting like children and adolescents? I don’t think so. Most children and adolescents have a much greater curiosity to learn and are much more likely to question so called “authorities”. I agree with your comment about the dairy contribution to the problem. People just accept what the food lobbies tell them without question. How ridiculous does it sound to make “bovine mammary discharge” a key part of your familiy’s daily diet?